This invention relates to a sanitary waste collector for picking-up pet waste and other material that should not be touched by hand. Various sanitary waste collectors for holding pet waste have been proposed. Although these devices have sometimes involved mechanical tools which are positioned over the waste and are then manipulated to close the arms or similar elements to contain the waste, these devices have suffered from several disadvantages.
For example, these prior art devices have not effectively provided a disposable receptacle or container for such waste. Moreover, some of the prior art devices have also had the further disadvantage of getting soiled, after the device has been put to repeated use. Certain of these prior art devices have attempted to overcome these problems and disadvantages through the use of bags and other containers attached to the arms of the device. These devices, however, have been less than satisfactory.
The prior art, as is known to the inventor, is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,139 to Greib, which teaches a Sanitary Waste Collector. However, Greib teaches a fixed frame sanitary waste collector, which uses an open container at its lower extremity, which is then closed and sealed around the pet waste. The containers are always in an open position until use. Furthermore, the bendable lip on the outside edges of the container does not allow the edge of the container to effectively scoop the feces into it, and therefore will often smear the feces or cause it to be caught between the edges of the container, thus preventing sanitary closure of the container.
The instant invention is composed mainly of two moving braces which are held in a closed position until force is exerted upon the handle, whereby the braces open outwardly to provide a sanitary enclosure. The arms upon which the sanitary enclosure rests are thin enough to allow the enclosure to efficiency scoop feces into its enclosure without smearing or catching the waste in the edges, thus providing a truly sanitary closure.
Other devices exist for collecting waste sanitarily, but are considered non-analogous to the present invention. Neither these nor other references known to the inventor address or solve the problem solved by the instant invention, that is, a truly sanitary waste collector which keeps the sanitary enclosure positively closed until pressure is exerted on the handle.